THE New Zealand dollar pared its losses on Tuesday after government figures showed growth in retail sales across most sectors and regions in the first three months of the year.
The kiwi rose to 82.90 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.40 cents at 8am, little changed from 83.05 cents on Monday. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.46 from 77.67.
New Zealanders increased their spending 0.5 per cent in the three months ended March 31, according to Statistics New Zealand, short of the 0.8 per cent growth forecast, but with gains in most industries and across almost all regions.
A fall in spending on apparel held back the headline number, with fewer people buying new clothes due to an unseasonally warm autumn.
The improving retail environment across most of New Zealand bolstered investors' optimism that the economic recovery isn't limited Auckland and Christchurch.
"It's a good mix of the retail sector performing reasonably well, but with not a lot of inflationary pressure to knock it," said Chris Tennent-Brown, FX economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"When the US dollar is firm then the kiwi is likely to not get quite as buoyant as it was a few weeks ago."
Foreign investors continued to support New Zealand's government bonds and Treasury bills in April, accounting for two-thirds of the $43.03 billion on issue, according to Reserve Bank figures. That's the highest proportion of non-residents holding New Zealand government securities since November 2008.
Australia's government will unveil its budget on Tuesday night, ahead of New Zealand's budget on Thursday, though both are unlikely to have much impact on currency markets.
The New Zealand dollar slipped to 82.97 Australian cents on Tuesday afternoon, from 83.07 cents at 5pm on Monday and dropped to 84.11 yen from 84.49 yen.
It slid to 63.71 euro cents from 63.99 cents and was little changed at 54.12 British pence from 54.09 pence.
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